Tag hardware

On Wednesday, Google unveiled its latest products and software updates during the ‘Made by Google’ event. The new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones stole the show, featuring the advanced Tensor G3 chip, which Google claims is their most powerful chip yet. With this new chipset, both devices offer numerous AI features, making the Pixel 8’s machine learning model ten times more complex than the previous model, the Pixel 7.

This year, Google has kept the iconic design of the Pixel while making some subtle changes. The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro feature rounded corners, giving them a softer look. Both models are available in unique colors such as Hazel, Rose, Obsidian, Porcelain, and a new blue color called Bay. The matte finish on the back of the Pixel 8 Pro adds a touch of elegance.

Google has introduced several new features to enhance its user experience. In addition to its existing innovations, the Call Screen feature can now effectively filter out spam calls, while the Clear Calling and Audio Magic Eraser features ensure clear audio and video communication. Furthermore, Google Assistant has improved its capabilities, allowing it to summarize text from websites and create summaries of audio captured in the Recorder app. This ensures that voice-generated messages are quicker and smoother for users.

The displays have been ramped up in brightness, reaching up to 2,400 nits on the Pixel 8 Pro, ensuring crystal-clear visibility indoors and outdoors. The smaller Pixel 8 now operates at a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, matching the fluidity traditionally reserved for more premium models.

In the camera department, the Pixel 8 sports a robust 50-megapixel main camera, while the Pro variant pushes the envelope with a 48-megapixel Quad PD ultrawide and telephoto lens, coupled with Google’s image-processing prowess to capture stunning visuals.

Inside, the phones house the new Tensor G3 chip, marking the third generation of Google’s in-house silicon. While the performance boost wasn’t overly emphasized, the real deal lies in the enhanced AI processing capabilities, promising a smarter smartphone experience.

Google promises an unprecedented seven years of security and feature updates, reinforced by camera and mic toggles, Google One VPN, and a Titan M2 security coprocessor.

Moving on to wearables, the Pixel Watch 2 made a grand entrance with a sleek design and enhanced health and fitness tracking features. The watch now boasts a new multi-path heart rate sensor and a body-response sensor, helping users stay on top of their wellness game.

The Pixel Buds Pro also made a cameo with new color variants and features like a low-latency mode and Conversation Detection to enrich the audio experience.

On the software frontier, Android 14 was rolled out with a focus on customization and enhanced accessibility settings. Additionally, the Assistant is set to become more intuitive and handy with integrating Bard AI, aiming to provide a more seamless user experience across various apps and services.

Google’s latest additions to their product line showcase their signature blend of modern design and advanced software capabilities. The Pixel devices and Pixel Watch 2 cater to photography enthusiasts, tech geeks, and anyone seeking a reliable and intuitive companion, providing an elevated user experience.

Microsoft hasn’t had a lot of good fortune when it comes to its own hardware, at least outside of the Xbox consoles. Its first attempt at an iPod killer turned the Zune into a laughing stock, and its efforts to create its own mobile platform as well as adopt Android both ended up as market failures. Surprisingly, it struck gold with the Surface, particularly the Surface Pro line of 2-in-1 detachable tablet PCs that challenged the iPad and offered an even more versatile working experience on the go. That gave birth to a family of products ranging from computers to accessories and some hope that Microsoft has finally succeeded after all those years. Last week even saw the announcement of a new Surface Laptop Studio 2, but reception has been a little bit lukewarm and even doubtful of the future of these portable computers.

Designer: Microsoft

It’s not that the new Surface Laptop Studio 2 is terrible, just that it comes two years after the very first model. The Surface Laptop Studio definitely turned heads with its unique design in how it combined laptop and tablet forms in a way no other manufacturer has done before. It’s still a single piece of hardware, unlike the detachable Surface Pro, but part of its display detaches from the back and can be tilted at different angles, transforming the computer into a tablet or entertainment center. It practically combines the Surface Laptop and the larger Surface Studio to create a portable creativity powerhouse like no other.

The Surface Laptop Studio 2 upgrades that design from the inside, with newer options when it comes to specs. There are also some changes from the outside, like the addition of a full-sized USB-A port and a microSD card slot, but the overall form remains the same. It’s more of an incremental step forward, which might sound a bit disappointing considering how much time has passed between the two generations.

What has some Microsoft fans more concerned, however, is what the company wasn’t saying or showing during that event. The Surface Pro 10 was nowhere to be seen, which was strange considering it is the poster child for the brand. Even the smallest Surface got an upgrade, though the Surface Go 4’s middling specs and business-oriented rhetoric might make it less interesting for consumers. The Surface Laptop Go also arrives with a third-gen model, though this is also the less powerful version of Microsoft’s self-branded laptop.

Instead, Microsoft’s event seemed to focus more on its AI-powered Office features, which isn’t surprising considering how it’s a very hot topic and how Microsoft has invested heavily in this technology. But along with the departure of Panos Panay, considered to be the face of Microsoft Surface, there have been murmurs and doomsayings about the future of this product line. After all, the design of the Surface devices hasn’t change that much over the years, and, save for the Surface Laptop Studio, hasn’t seen much innovation either. It remains to be seen if Microsoft has lost its touch and, just like its previous hardware products, put the Surface to pasture soon.